In its 11th year, County Materials’ Charity Golf Outing has again surpassed its goal of raising more than the previous year. County Materials hosted their annual event on September 7th, 2017, at the Wausau Country Club to raise funds for charities supported by the Sonnentag Foundation. In total, the 2017 outing raised $175,605—$19,105 more than last year’s event. Since County Materials first organized the charity golf outing, it has raised more than $937,755 for charitable organizations. One hundred percent of the golf outing funds are distributed by the Sonnentag Foundation, whose philanthropic interests are strategically focused on supporting programs and projects that change the lives of people in communities where County Materials has facilities.
Every year the event brings together sponsors and participants who have the chance to meet with representatives from several charitable organizations they are helping. At this year’s event representatives from the Salvation Army Grace Place Homeless Shelter and three Big Brother Big Sisters branches were in attendance, including the North Central Wisconsin branch, Central Wisconsin branch, and the Rock, Walworth, and Jefferson Counties (RWJ) branch.
“An event like this gives us the opportunity to share our story,” said Pam Carper, Executive Director of BBBS RWJ. “The funds we receive go directly to our programming. This year we are earmarking all of the funds to go into our new E3 program, which is designed to encourage, empower, and energize children who have been impacted by human trafficking.”
At the event, Duana Bremer, Social Services Director for the Salvation Army Grace Place Homeless Shelter, said that funds will go directly into their children tutoring program. “The children tutoring program offers retired teachers the opportunity to visit the shelter and work with children three days a week. The teachers contact a child’s school directly to see what the child needs most,” said Bremer. “In many cases kids in the program improve 6 months of grade level during their stay at the shelter.”
Over 76 sponsors supported County Materials’ event, including major event sponsors Hansen Reynolds LLC, Hawkeye Pedershaab, Lafarge Holcim, and Truck Country, and presenting and supporting sponsors Fabick Cat, BASF, Engineered Wire Products, Continental Cement, Rocket Industrial, GCP Applied Technologies, Michels Corporation, Rock Road Companies, Inc., von Briesen, Insteel Wire Products, and Voeller Mixers.
The Sonnentag Foundation distributes funds to selected organizations after the outing. Preference is given to mentoring programs for children, support services for women who have experienced domestic violence and sexual assault, outreach programs and vocational skill training for veterans, as well as social and recreational camps for children and adults with disabilities and respite for their care givers. Funds from last year’s event were distributed to 27 different charitable organizations, directly impacting more than 55,700 people who benefit from these services and resources. The recipients include 14 BBBS chapters located throughout Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa; Easter Seals Wisconsin and their Respite and Recreation Camps in Wisconsin Dells; Easter Seals Crossroads in Indianapolis, IN; Lakes Cares Food Pantry in Mount Dora, FL; The Women’s Community, Inc. in Wausau, WI; HOPE of East Central Illinois in Charleston, IL; Alternatives Incorporated in Anderson, IN; the Salvation Army Grace Place Homeless Shelter in New Richmond, WI; YWCA of Rock County in Janesville, WI; the Amy Schulz Child Advocacy Center in Mount Vernon, IL; Community Action, Inc. in Delavan, WI; Sojourner Family Peace Center in Milwaukee, WI; Turningpoint in River Falls, WI; and The Women’s Center in Waukesha, WI.
For more information on County Materials’ annual Charity Golf Outing and the organizations that received funding, visit the Sonnentag Foundation website at sonnentagfoundation.org.